Grassley, Issa: Shake-up Won’t Stop Probe of ATF

By

Mary Lu Carnevale

Aug 30, 2011 5:58 pm ET

There might be more to come in the investigation of the anti-gun-trafficking program that sparked the shake-up at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, according to two lawmakers who have spearheaded the congressional probe.

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R., Iowa) (AP Photo/The Gazette, Brian Ray)

“There’s a lot of blame to go around. As our investigation moves forward, and we get to the bottom of this policy, I wouldn’t be surprised to see more fall out beyond the resignations and new assignments announced today,” said Sen. Chuck Grassley (R., Iowa). Mr. Grassley, along with Rep. Darrell Issa (R., Calif.), have been investigating ATF’s “Operation Fast and Furious.” Some of the guns that ATF sold to suspected smugglers with the intention of tracking them have been linked to crimes in both Mexico and the U.S.

Mr. Grassley called the shake-up “an admission by the Obama administration that serious mistakes were made in Operation Fast and Furious, and is a step in the right direction that they are continuing to limit any further damage that people involved in this disastrous strategy can do.”

Mr. Issa, who chairs the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said the panel’s investigation will continue “to ensure that blame isn’t offloaded on just a few individuals for a matter that involved much higher levels of the Justice Department.”